VICTORIA
I think I’ve died. Have I died? If so, where am I? I tried to lift my head, but nothing happened. There was a strange lethargy that weighed my body down, and I felt adrift, the way you do when you’re on a float in the ocean. I couldn’t hold my thoughts very well, couldn’t seem to remember anything, but I recognized the walls from what little I could see.
I’d seen this sight for so many hours now that it was ingrained in my brain. How long has it been now? I have no idea. It’s all I can do not to freak out and lose my mind for real from the minutiae. All I seem to do is drift in and out of consciousness, not knowing where one reality ended and another one began.
My head was still fuzzy from the drugs they’d been feeding me, and I’d lost time. Days or weeks could’ve gone by, and I wouldn’t know since I seem to sleep for hours in this place. Sometimes I’d wake up out of an almost comalike sleep having no recollection of anything. Sometimes I’m too loopy to care.
Today though is the worst. I turned my head to the side where the people usually are. I think they may be doctors from their white lab coats and the fact that they’re always peering at me like an insect under a scope. As the drugs started to wear off, I realized that my mouth was unusually parched with a soreness that I can’t describe.
My lips were dry, and there was a tinny taste in my mouth that I could not place. Blood, it tasted like blood. I opened my mouth to lick my lips, and something wasn’t registering in my mind. Something felt off, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. Then I realized I couldn’t feel my tongue.
I tried again and again with no luck and thinking it was the effects of the drug, I lifted my arm, which felt like it weighed a ton which was not helped by the shackles around my wrists. I pushed my fingers past my lips as things became clearer and opened my mouth in horror. No sound came as I screamed and screamed. They’d taken my tongue.
I heard a door open somewhere and tried to escape off the cot as I sensed more than saw someone enter the room and head towards me, but of course, I was going nowhere. The sounds I made were sickening, like a mute or some other undesirable thing. I couldn’t stop the flow of tears or the mix of anger and fear that filled me. I got even more afraid when the woman came to stand next to the cot with the most unsettling smile on her face.
“Our patron wanted us to tell you that your mother is dead.” What did she say? It can’t be. Of course not; she’d said it so nonchalantly it had to be a lie. She started wiping me down, ignoring the grunts and groans of misery as she carried on talking as if relaying some gossip she’d read on the web.
“Are you asking what happened?”
No, you demented bitch. Let me out of here.
“Well, she caught fire to her husband’s dead wife’s things, and he killed her. Lucky for him, he might get a slap on the wrist due to diminished capacity. Do you know what that means? I’m sure you do; you’re such a smart girl.”
“Anyhow, our patron has asked us to also relay the message that Gianna had a marvelous time at her first coming out ball in Paris; she was the belle of the ball.” The bitch laughed like this was a joke.
“Oh, what’s that? You want to see?” She moved to the head of the cot and reached into her pocket for a phone. That’s when I realized that I didn’t recognize her; she wasn’t one of the usual doctors that came in and out of here.
She opened her phone, and as much as I hated to, I couldn’t keep myself from looking at the screen. Gabe and Gianna looked like a celebrity couple as they danced. Always with the dancing. Have you ever heard of screaming into the void? I finally knew what that meant as I screamed over and over again, trying to drown out the sound of her voice as she went on and on about Gia and Gabe, but no sound came.
My mouth was just a black gaping hole of nothingness. But something else registered as well. I realized that I felt nothing as she went back to wiping my legs with the wet cloth. My legs, what happened to my legs? I tried raising my head again but still nothing. Fear, horror, disbelief all warred inside me.
“Tomorrow, we’ll work on your arms.” The bitch cackled then started humming. What did she mean about my arms? The door opened again, and a familiar voice was heard. “Okay, Ophelia, time to go back to your place; you’ve had your fun. Did you tell her?”
“Yes, she seemed most pleased.” What the fuck are you talking about, lady? I tried screaming the words, but of course, nothing happened. She shuffled away from the room, and he took her place, pulling the sheet over my body and looking down at me clinically.
“Sorry about that. Ophelia was once one of the leading scientists here, but running the experiments has sent her quite insane, which is odd since she did most of the research. The mind can be like that. Brilliant one moment and shattered the next. How are you feeling?” I’m not sure he was any better than she was. Did everyone in this place have that maniacal look in their eyes?
GABRIEL
“Lancelot, you’re still pissy, I see. I didn’t go off with them to have fun without you, you know. Pop hired them to watch my back.” He’s such a damn wife sometimes. He’s been pouting for days now, and even now that we’re back, he’s still giving me the cold shoulder. That hasn’t stopped him from sticking close to me, though.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were looking for your grandpa?”
“Is that what this is about? For the simple reason that I didn’t want to get anyone’s hopes up only to dash them when things didn’t pan out.” That seemed to unruffle his feathers a bit, and he gave me a softened look.
“You wanna go shoot some hoops?”
“It’s cold as balls.”
“Downstairs, moron.”
“Oh, yeah, in that case.” Anything to keep you from asking me any more questions. I should’ve known, though, that his nosy ass would jump from one topic to the next without fail.
As soon as we suited up and got on the court, he went in. “So, what’s with you and Gia?” Years of practice helped me not to falter under his suspicious gaze. “What do you mean? Gianna’s with her grandmother.” I pretended confusion though I knew what he was referring to.
After news broke of her father’s arrest, I’d done everything I could to keep her calm. She was scared, something I hadn’t foreseen happening because I’m stupid. I didn’t give any thought to how she’d feel having her last remaining parent behind bars. I’d only thought of the end game, to years ahead when he’d gotten his shit together and could be a halfway decent dad to her.
Her grandmother and aunts, who’d flown in with their husbands, have been helping her settle things back at the house where she’s been for the past two days. Letting her go home hadn’t been as easy as I’d thought, but surprisingly she’d been the one to suggest it, saying that with grandpa here, she didn’t want to be in the way. But that was before she’d heard about her father.
I get the sense, too, that she’d been testing me, wanting me to tell her not to go. I wish I could’ve, but she’d made a very difficult decision very easy for me. I still go see her, though, and we talk on the phone because I don’t want her handling this alone, but the distance was the best thing for her in the long run.